Future Shock Blog

Minor League Update: Games of June 25

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Betances now has a 6.39 ERA, including a 9.00 mark in five June starts. He's walks 69 batters in 74.2 innings, and he hasn't had a quality start since early May. At some point you have to
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give up the ghost. At some point it doesn't make sense to keep running him out there every five days to fail. Whether it's a move to the bullpen or some time off to work on his broken delivery, it's time to shake something up here.

Others Of Note:

James Baldwin, OF, Dodgers (Low-A Great Lakes): 3-for-5, 2 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI. Amazing tools that once in a while shine; .218/.282/.298 in 57 games.

Every team should have a Bloomquist/Bruntlett type who can play 5-6 positions. Hopefully they hit a little better than that, but such players can easily free up a spot for a Giambi-like bench bat or a specialty reliever.

I think that it's pretty clear the Cubs would like Vitters to play 3rd from Sept onwards. If he follows his normal trajectory, he'll hit .225 next year and then be decent going forward. Not that we are allowed to think like that.